Day 102 - Sunday 9 April - Melbourne's wet - Onto our next stop

Day 102

Sunday

9 April 2017 – Started my next novel “The Girl With All The Gifts” by M R Carey.

South Dandenong – Dalyston – Loch –Wonthaggi – Cape Paterson 

Brr. It is cold! The temp dropped 10 degrees today, I guess the nice week of Melbourne weather is behind us. We were woken through the night at various times to loud claps of thunder and pelting rain, with a band coming through at 6.30am keeping Paul awake.

He read for a while, while I tried to hide under the blankets, shutting out the noise and the light. The worst of it seemed to subside by 7.45am, so Paul wanted to get out and put the car on, so he didn’t have to struggle in the wet. Unfortunately that meant I had to get out too.

It took a few goes before the car was in the right spot and I could return to the warm of the van, though it didn’t mean I could go back to bed, the pack up routine had begun.  Paul finished up outside and went for a shower while I sorted the breakfast and then went for my wash.

Once back, I ate, finished up on the net and we were unhooked and on the road, just as it began raining again. Melbourne was forecast to receive a months worth of rain today. The GPS set to Dalyston near Wonthaggi we were off. Unfortunately the first pat took us through road works and over the most ridiculous section of corrugations. We were lucky to do 10km an hour for a couple of k’s, everything being shaken to bits. We were relieved to see the tarmac return and enjoy a smoother ride.

We juiced up the van and then it was a clear run for the next hour, finally pulling into Dalyston Recreation Reserve, a camp area at a footy oval, which is being run by the parents of friends at home.  While they weren’t in to greet us, we set up the van and took off the car before deciding to head out to Loch and check out where Paul’s mate Ballsy had spent his youth and also the small brewery/distillery that has taken over the old bank building and butcher.

Paul received a tasting paddle of their 3 beers and diligently sat drinking and writing his notes. We chatted to the brewer and the owner for a while, Paul scoring a try of their limited chilli beer also. We were then told to check out the chilli shop, who supply the chilli for the beer and to have a burger, so we did just that.

We sampled some of the chilli products before enjoying a hearty beef burger and a hot chocolate made from their own cocoa powder. Both were delicious and worth the stop. Following this we returned to the road, following the Wonthaggi – Loch Road back through the lumpy, farming country. We enjoyed the views over the valleys and watching the weather sweep in. I stopped to take some photos and watch a large eagle being chased down by an aggressive magpie.

Instead of returning to the van we continued on to Wonthaggi, which is quite a large town by comparison to the others in this area, we didn’t stop, opting to check out the tourist coastal road to Cape Paterson.

We stopped down by a boat ramp to take in the grey skies that were being framed by a large rainbow. The waters of the strait were crashing in yet again. I was happy to return to the car after our brief interlude. We followed the road back out through Wonthaggi and on to the van. By the time we arrived back Pidge was home and Paul was able to sort out the deal with staying at the oval, free for us with power and shower, you beauty!

I got comfy inside, working on the photos from today while Paul did his brewery write up. By 5pm I was ready to stretch my legs and figured while the sun was attempting to poke it’s head out between the grey rain clouds, we should get out and walk laps of the footy oval.  

It was very brisk out of van and I was dressed like an Eskimo braving a snowstorm, however after a few laps I peeled the hood off and enjoyed the cold tingle against the face.  The step count ticked over 10000, well short of our usual target, but better than it was before we started.

We returned to the van to organise dinner. With the three gas jets burning on full tilt, the van soon warmed up and we were nice and toasty.  We ate, did the dishes, sang along to the Ipod and then retreated to our comfy spots to enjoy the evening.